Seizing the Moment: B.C. Needs a Whole-of-Government Approach to Innovation and Economic Growth in 2025

By Abu Kamat
CCI's Director of Strategic Initiatives

With a new mandate, new ministers and new priorities, the spring legislative session in British Columbia is shaping up to be particularly important.

When the B.C. provincial budget is tabled on March 4, it will be an opportunity for the government to begin implementing a new economic vision for B.C.

Premier David Eby has already demonstrated a willingness to act in the face of economic uncertainty. His swift response to the threat of U.S. tariffs—leaning into a Team Canada approach and making it clear that B.C will stand up for its industries—is the kind of decisive action needed in times of economic turbulence. This leadership is commendable, and the steps taken to prioritize Canadian suppliers in procurement and accelerate private-sector projects are the right ones.

But the real challenge ahead is turning this kind of short-term responsiveness into a long-term, strategic plan to make B.C.’s economy more resilient, competitive, and globally relevant. That means putting innovation at the centre of the province’s economic strategy—not as an abstract policy priority, but by actively working with B.C.-based innovators to ensure they have the tools to scale, compete, and lead.

During the election, the Council of Canadian Innovators released Election Briefing: What B.C. Innovators Need to Scale, outlining a clear set of policy recommendations for the next government. These recommendations include:

• Using public sector procurement to drive economic growth, ensuring BC companies have access to government contracts that can help them scale.
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• Expanding access to growth capital, building on initiatives like InBC to ensure more high-potential companies can secure the funding they need to compete globally.
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• Strengthening BC’s intellectual property (IP) strategy, accelerating Phase 2 to focus on firm-level commercialization and retention of homegrown innovation.
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• Developing a cohesive AI strategy, integrating AI policy with data governance, IP protections, and commercialization efforts to support BC-built technology.
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• Modernizing BC’s approach to tech talent, including reforms to the "Software Engineer" title and accelerating the approval process for companies to hire temporary foreign workers.
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Successfully delivering on these priorities will require more than just new policies—it will demand better coordination across government. The Ministries of Jobs Economic Development and Innovation, Labour, Post-Secondary & Future Skills, Health, Citizen Services, and Energy all play roles in fostering innovation, but too often, operate independently, missing opportunities to leverage innovation as a tool for economic growth, service delivery, and increased productivity. Operating in silos is one of the biggest barriers to unlocking B.C.’s full potential – and is especially consequential in a time of rising economic nationalism worldwide.  Without coordination, policies are fragmented, investments are duplicated or overlooked, and high-potential initiatives stall.

As we approach Budget 2025, B.C. must take a whole-of-government approach that ensures innovation is not treated as the responsibility of a single ministry but as a cross-cutting priority embedded in every department. Ministries need to work together—intentionally and systematically—to ensure innovation isn’t just a buzzword but a tool that drives economic growth, improves services, and enhances B.C.’s competitiveness.

The best way to get this right? Engage directly with B.C.-based innovators—the people who understand what it takes to scale. By breaking down silos, aligning across ministries, and working hand-in-hand with the province’s top innovators, the government can turn policy ambition into real economic impact.

The companies building BC’s future are ready—the question is: will the government seize the moment and build with them?

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Pour en savoir plus sur le travail de l'ICC en Colombie-Britannique, contactez Abu Kamat à l'adresse akamat@canadianinnovators.org.

À propos du Conseil des innovateurs canadiens

Le Conseil des innovateurs canadiens est une organisation nationale basée sur ses membres qui remodèle la façon dont les gouvernements à travers le Canada pensent à la politique d'innovation, et qui soutient les entreprises d'envergure nationale pour stimuler la prospérité. Fondé en 2015, le CCI représente et travaille avec plus de 150 entreprises technologiques canadiennes à la croissance la plus rapide. Nos membres sont les chefs de la direction, les fondateurs et les cadres supérieurs qui sont à l'origine de certaines des entreprises à grande échelle les plus prospères du Canada. Tous nos membres sont des créateurs d'emplois et de richesses, des investisseurs, des philanthropes et des experts dans leurs domaines de la technologie de la santé, des technologies propres, de la fintech, de la cybersécurité, de l'IA et de la transformation numérique. Les entreprises de notre portefeuille sont leaders sur leur marché vertical, commercialisent leurs technologies dans plus de 190 pays et génèrent entre 10 et 750 millions de dollars de revenus annuels récurrents. Nous plaidons en leur nom pour des stratégies gouvernementales qui augmentent leur accès aux talents qualifiés, au capital stratégique et aux nouveaux clients, ainsi qu'à une liberté d'exploitation élargie pour leurs poursuites d'échelle à l'échelle mondiale.